


Mixed Feelings

by ImaKaraTabiHe



Series: Speedster Family [21]
Category: Justice League - All Media Types, Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Baking, Comfort, Cookies, Crying, Frustration, Hugs, Language, Mental Breakdown, Stress, upset Wally
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-22
Updated: 2016-09-22
Packaged: 2018-08-16 19:05:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8113969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImaKaraTabiHe/pseuds/ImaKaraTabiHe
Summary: Wally has a love-hate relationship with cookies.  It just so happens, this time it's hate.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Renegade Hero (Scarletarrow)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scarletarrow/gifts).



Wally loves cookies (as if no one knew that). I mean, _loves_. His motto? “There's never a wrong time for cookies.” His uncle follows it too. Go figure.

Snickerdoodles, butter cookies, peanut butter cup cookies, lemon crinkle, chocolate crinkle, chocolate chip, butterscotch – you name it, Wally loves it. What's not to like about cookies? They come in so many varieties with some wiggle room for even  _more_ flavors.

Except.. baking.

Wally down right hates it. Okay – no, he doesn't  _hate_ it. Not normally, at least. It's just a bit of a painfully slow process with a Speedster's speed. So. Fucking. Tedious. Sure, he can add the ingredients relatively quick, but mixing?  _Letting dough chill for 3-4 hours?_ Fuck that.

And fucking mixing machines.. Okay, so right now he hates making cookies. It's not worth it.

Wally glares at the too deep bowl. The mixing machine's whisks aren't reaching the very bottom. And  _fuck_ if Wally's not making a mess trying to stab them down deep enough to reach the flour.

Dough is strewn across the counter, old-fashioned oats hanging from the edge and a glob of shortening, egg, and whatever else laughing at him from a spot on the kitchen floor. The oven's light goes off – it's properly heated – all the way to 450 º F.

“I can't do this,” he took a shuddering, angry breath. His heart was pounding in his chest as if it were punishing him for making such a mess. For being a _superhero_ and _failing_ at _baking cookies._ Wally bit into his lip, eyes watering with tears that threatened to spill over.

His hands shook with self-hatred as he tore through the lower cabinets and plucked out a big, metal bowl his aunt usually reserved for making home-made rolls. Wally set the mixer aside, wincing as he saw another glob of dough hit the counter. He'd have to clean up later, if he felt up to it.

Wally grabbed the deep bowl with the dough and turned it upside down over the bigger, metal bowl and spooned the dough out. He swallowed a swear as he saw all the flour now on top of the dough. There was more than he'd thought there would be. “Well, damn..”

He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them and grabbing the mixer and proceeding to mix the dough together. It was so  _slow_ and the oven was already ready. Why couldn't it go faster?

Sighing as he finished, he threw the whisks into the sink and walked over to the counter, pulling a cookie sheet out from under a cookbook. He ran his hand over it to make sure it was clean. It wasn't.

“Of all the fucking..” Wally bit back an aggravated yell and went over to wash it, getting water all over the counter. “Stupid sink, stupid cookies, stupid cookie sheet...” he muttered as he dried the cookie sheet.

Ignoring the water, he grabbed a spoon and proceeded to roll the dough in his hand, rounding it into a ball and plopping it on the cookie sheet.  He repeated it until there were 12 balls of dough on the sheet and then put it into the oven, setting the timer for 6 minutes.

Wally choked on an annoyed, miserable sob as he noted just how much dough was left. There was  _a lot_ . Probably for 3 more cookie sheets worth. “36 more cookies...” God, he didn't want to do it.

“Wally, I'm home,” his uncle called from the door. “Are you making cookies?”

“Yeah,” Wally washed his hands in the sink, blinking away tears as much as possible.

Barry set his stuff aside and walked into the kitchen, looking around at the mess and finally settling on his nephew, who stood, looking away from him with hunched shoulders. His lips curved in a frown. “Wally?”

Setting a hand on Wally's shoulder, Barry slowly turned Wally towards him. Panic spiked when he saw Wally's wet, red eyes. “Hey, hey.. What's wrong?”

“I hate these cookies,” Wally whined, pathetically. “They're so messy and there's just so damn much...”

Barry spied some oats in a glob of dough and he winced sympathetically. Cowboy Cookies made so much.. “You don't have to make them all tonight,” he told his nephew. “We can put the rest of the dough in the fridge.”

Wally snorted, wetly. “But you and Aunt Iris wanted to take them to work with you..” Barry immediately felt bad. He'd been asking after those cookies and Wally had taken it upon himself to make them for him, but it was turning out to be too stressful.

He saw the way Wally's shoulders trembled, fists clenched as his nails bit into his skin, trying to contain tears. “Hey..” Barry tugged Wally into his chest and hugged his nephew close. “It's okay. Patty gave me some cookies today. I can always take those and your aunt can share.”

Wally's arms wrapped around his uncle and his hands gripped his shirt. Barry felt him shrug and cling to him. “It's okay,” he murmured as he felt his shirt dampen. It made his chest tighten to realize that his nephew was so frustrated with the cookies that he was crying. He instantly hugged him closer and kissed his hair.

“Don't worry, okay? Let's just put the dough in the fridge, yeah?” he said, leaning back to look at Wally. He reached out and wiped away some tears from his nephew's cheeks, smiling gently at him. Wally sniffled and nodded.

_-Beep, beep! Beep, beep!-_

Barry untangled himself from Wally and reached out, turning the timer off and grabbing some oven mitts. Wally watched, absently as Barry took the cookies from the oven, set them on the stove, and flipped the oven off.

Pushing through his desire to cry again, Wally took out some foil and put it over the bowl of cookie dough. He also grabbed a spatula and some plates as his uncle took the bowl and put it into the fridge. Of course, even putting the cookies onto the plates would go wrong.

Wally practically growled as he felt the spatula stop, cookies sticking to the sheet. He bit, deeply, into his lip as he forced the spatula forward, hating the way there were bits of cookie left on the sheet. Taking a deep breath, he put the cookies onto the plate, vaguely noting how his uncle was going behind him and cleaning up the kitchen.

The leftover cookie bits on the cookie sheet taunted him and he glared at them, hateful tears spilling down his cheeks once more. Wally threw down the spatula, the comfort his uncle had given him, fading away.

His uncle was beside him in flash. “Oh, Wally..” Barry ignored the spatula and picked Wally up, hating the way he grabbed him and sobbed against his neck. He hugged the boy tightly, whispering reassurances and soft words. “It's okay..”

Barry left the cookies sitting on the plates, left the spatula on the floor, and carried his nephew into the living room. Carefully, he sat down on the couch, hugging him and flipping on the TV. “Ssshhh.. it's okay. No more cookies tonight..” Wally nodded into his neck.

“Come on, get comfy,” he encouraged Wally as sounds from the TV filled the room. “What do you want to watch? How about the new _Peanuts_ movie?”

“Okay,” Wally agreed, voice hoarse as he shifted around, staying on his uncle's lap to see the TV. Barry smiled fondly, wrapping his arms around Wally's middle and setting his chin on Wally's shoulder as the movie began.

That's how Iris found them, cuddled up together on the couch with _Peanuts_ playing on TV. Wally as tucked against Barry, eyes shut with exhaustion clear on his face.

She sent a questioning look to her husband and he motioned to the kitchen. “Wasn't a good day for cookies,” Barry explained, voice gentle. She frowned, still a little confused and went to check in the kitchen.

A spatula sat on the floor below the cookie caked cookie sheet. There were several plates of Cowboy Cookies cooling on the counter. She picked up a cookie, still warm, and bit into it. She could tell how much Wally had put into making the cookies. There was plenty of evidence of that.

A bowl, she realized, that was filled with extra dough was sitting in the fridge. She knew she'd be making cookies for a few days to come, but she was okay with that. Her nephew did a good job. Cookies could be a pain in the ass to make, especially with shortening, but he did it. For her and Barry.

She walked back into the living room and handed Barry a cookie, leaning down to kiss Wally's cheek. “Thank you, sweetie,” she murmured in her sleeping nephew's ear. “You did good.”

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure if this is what you asked for Renegade, but maybe you'll like it? I ended up getting really frustrated (like Wally does in this) and I needed to write it down. THUS! This was born out of that.
> 
> Let me know what you thought, if you can. Hope you have a great weekend/Friday.
> 
> Tumblr: tabihe


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